Atletico Madrid are dealing with yet another injury blow ahead of their fixture with Manchester United next week.
Centre-back Jose Maria Gimenez has suffered a calf injury, picked up in their 2-1 victory over Cadiz on Friday night. The diagnosis is a small tear in the soleus muscle. This will be another frustrating setback for the Uruguayan, who has been battling injury problems consistently over recent seasons.
The estimated time of his absence is set at three weeks, according to Diario AS. This would mean missing the crucial Champions League second leg against Manchester United on Tuesday evening and Atletico’s La Liga fixture with Rayo Vallecano next weekend.
Fortunately for Atletico, with the international break interrupting the league schedule at the end of March, he could well be back for their following fixture against Alaves.
Marca have disputed this news. In a report which came out this morning, they had assured that Gimenez would be present against Manchester United. After the story was broken by AS, Marca then updated their own story, mentioning that although there was an injury, Gimenez would be present in training on Monday. Time will tell which is right, but it could be that Gimenez is willing to risk playing despite the injury.
This is just the latest in a series of injuries for Atletico Madrid, who now hit the mark for the season, averaging more than an injury per match.
Image via Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images
